MY STORY WITH ALZHEIMER'S

Saturday, August 13, 2016

alzheimers news-the final answer

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THE FINAL ANSWER

that is what i am searching for
a final answer
i realize that short of dying and getting a brain autopsy
that there is not a 100% guarantee that the answer is correct
but
i plan to come as close as you can in 2016

here is how you diagnosis alzheimers disease in
the year 2016

you go to the doctor with a partner to answer questions
from your doctor
preferably having filled out things like ad8 or the
21 question questionairre
looking for explanations for memory loss
i scored perfect on my ad8 and the questionairre
nothing in my medical history showed a cause
except
that my mother and brother had alzheimers and my dad
may have had it as well as aunts and uncles and a grandparent
i had high cholesterol but it was controlled with medication
my mild high blood pressure was controlled with low dose medication

so i had a lot of screening lab
the only abnormal tests were low b12 low vit d3 high homocystiene level
all of which puts you at risk for memory issues
these were easily corrected with taking supplements

a mri scan was done to look for brain shrinkage or other causes
of memory loss like too much swelling or masses or tumors
or old strokes
mine was normal except for two small white spots that
are a warning of microstrokes if you have too many of them
mine were considered not significant just a warning to
control my blood pressure and cholesterol

an in office memory test called moca was abnormal initially
a more involved neuropsych test was abnormal in that
it showed short term memory loss amnestic type
consisted with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment
the pre state before the diagnosis of alzheimers disease

this was compared to a normal memory test administered by
my long term care insurance provider three years before

so thats where you would be in 2016
just this diagnosis of mci amnestic type

not really enough to make those future decisions on
for me

so i went further which you can if you push your provider
knowing that insurance will not pay for this testing im writing about now
yet

i had genetic tests done
no dominant alzheimers gene was found
but
i do carry a double gene apoe 4/apoe4 gene
putting me at an increased risk of 10-20 times of developing
alzheimers disease
based on how well i take care of my health

i had a spinal tap to check the level of bad amyloid and tau proteins
my levels were not normal but were in an indeterminate level
that was headed towards the alzheimers level but werent quite there yet
this was done 5 years ago
if i had one repeated now i would get a more accurate picture of whether
these levels progressed

i had a pet scan of the brain for glucose metabolism
mine was normal
in alzheimers there are large areas of no uptake of glucose
in early mci like my diagnosis these scans can be normal
becoming abnormal when the disease progresses more

the one piece the most important piece that is missing is
kevinjwoo.com
an amyvid pet scan of the brain
which shows the highlighted areas of beta amyloid

if you have alzheimers disease even real early
there will be lots of the bad beta amyloid present in the brain
years before any symptoms show up

i have had one 5 years ago as part of the adni study i am in
i signed a waiver to not get the results
i wish i had the results

so now in 2016 i am at the point that i want this final piece
of my puzzle
the amyvid pet scan
so that i can more accurately plan my our future together
knowing that further new tests are coming in the next 5 years

now i the other day when i was working alone in my garden
my place of reflection
my place of relaxation
my place of meditating

it dawned on me
that really i hadnt done this before because
when i was honest to myself
i was afraid to know this final piece of the puzzle
like when a big mass is no doubt cancer
but the biopsy gives you the final answer
its sort of like that
i was afraid
am afraid
to get that report
since
as of now there is this small area of doubt up in my brain
that maybe just maybe it isnt there
since
my memory has gradually returned to normal now

well folks
it is time for me to find out

ill let you know when it happens and will discuss the findings with you